We now have a more complex and exciting media world to navigate and it is imperative to learn and adapt to the opportunities the new media world
presents. It is the very idea of effective communication that should, however, be foremost in our minds. While the world changes at a dizzying rate, some fundamental things remain the same. The challenge for brand marketers, together with their agencies, remains that of effectively communicating a brand's message in a way that is distinctive and memorable and builds preference and loyalty.
Many years ago, I read that the role of television advertising was to make brands famous. Bartle, Bogle and Hegarty built a legendary agency on the back of the claim that they made brands famous and, more often than not, they did it on the good old telly. Why is this important? Well, though the steady migration of advertising money into new media will undoubtedly accelerate, we should be careful in our planning. We would do well to remember what has been successful in the past. "Brand fame" is the intangible equity that drives business sustainability, shareholder value and the ability to charge a premium. The creative genius of Hegarty was matched by others who helped shape, not just our advertising, but our economy and often our cultural sensibility.
Consider the following slogans — "You know when you've been Tangoed"; "Heineken refreshes the parts … "; "Beans meanz Heinz"; "The world's favourite airline" and "Just do it". These great ideas were developed by people who were not experts in media. Their genius was in understanding the human condition and understanding that if you could make an emotional connection with an original idea, you had a significant chance of marketplace success.
I am not for harking back to the past. I am, however, a great fan of media that works, and so I'm still a great fan of the old media of television, the printed word and the captivating poster. At the same time, I am fascinated by the media sociology of my teenage children, dominated as it is by Sky+, their mobiles and iPods, instant messaging, creating their own content, text messaging and shared digital experiences — and my own business portfolio is heavily skewed toward digital.
But amid all the techy, data-driven, real-time, personalised, immediate noise about new media, it is important to remember that the only media that really work are those that allow the brand to create significance — and that can only be done with a great idea. Without that and the ability to express it, you are dead.
Lee Daley is strategic partner at Endeavor Marketing Services New York, chairman of IQONS.com, and non-executive director of Real Time Content. He will be the chairman of the Media Guardian Changing Advertising summit on October 13.
